Traute Marshall: Vote for Marrazzo in Newton Ward 3

Sunday

Aug 31, 2014 at 9:38 PMAug 31, 2014 at 9:46 PM

Jeanne Marrazzo is the top candidate for those of us who demand better fiscal stewardship from our elected representatives. If you were against the override, she is the obvious candidate. She is seriously concerned about the rampant overspending and overpromising that have led to over $1 billion of unfunded liabilities – a “lien” on every household of about $35,000 and growing.

Any candidate who does not see that the fiscal state of Newton is our greatest problem (not paper or plastic bags, not the state of the streets or even overdevelopment) clearly has very different priorities and cannot be relied upon to protect this city from fiscal waste and repeated attempts at overrides.

Aldermen need to be held accountable for the budget, a 24-0 approval vote after almost no debate is a scandal, and claiming that the aldermen have no say over the school budget (as other candidates did in a candidate forum) is an abdication of duty. They need to make it their business to press the school committee and the mayor to perform more wisely; otherwise, nothing will change and there will be more Newton Norths and more overrides.